Underground Railroad Research Forum

"The oral tradition, so to speak, relates only to Elizabeth's activities, but I need to see some actual documentation, not just *tradition*. Someone must have this, or there wouldn't be a marker at the homesite, would there be?"
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Hello Kate,

The above statement is from one of your responses to our thread here on this Forum about the PIATTS dating back to Sep 2006.

Researched the UGRR in that area (Logan County, Ohio) as it relates to the AA participants and have of course run across the PIATT stories. I have always doubted the PIATT story as I also have seen little, if any, "hard documentation". And really that deals with Elizabeth PIATT's family the BARNETT's. As stated in our previous correspondence the PIATT's aren't mentioned by Siebert in his list of UGRR operators in Logan County, or even Ohio for that matter. A serious oversight which brings the marker into question, at least by me.

The whole story of UGRR involvement along US Route 68 in Ohio concerns me. So much is written about the PIATT's and others with so little documentation and so little about the AA's cited by Siebert as UGRR conductors. My ancestors, the Adams, Bray, Reno & Stanhope families are listed and I believe only because of the Siebert interview of David Adams of Hancock County, Ohio mentions them. And some of them aren't even identified with the obligatory asterisk (*) designating them as AA.

These families were involved from the 1820's/30's and were located in Springfield, Urbana, Bellefontaine, Kenton/Mt. Victory and Findlay, Ohio areas. But somehow the only stories of "significence" for this area are the PIATT's and the Udney HYDE invovlement with the Addison WHITE rescue. Makes me wonder...were there two (2) disconnected UGRR operations going on in this area, or is it just the non-AA individuals are being recognized and more widely written about, regardless of fact.

I wish you the best in your research and sorry that I have nothing postive to add in your efforts concerning the PIATT's. If the "hard documentation" is there, I don't know where it is.

Thanks for the update on your work and please continue to us informed.